Monica Lewinsky, the former White House intern at the heart of one of the most scandalous political controversies in U.S. history, has once again spoken out about the affair with former President Bill Clinton that led to his impeachment. In a candid interview on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast, Lewinsky, now 51, reflected on the events that transpired in the late 1990s, claiming that Clinton should have resigned after Congress voted to impeach him for lying about their affair.

Lewinsky emphasized that Clinton’s decision to stay in office, instead of taking responsibility or stepping down, left her in an untenable position, with public fallout that impacted her personal and professional life for years. “I think the right way to handle a situation like that would have been to probably say it was nobody’s business and to resign. Or to find a way of staying in office that was not lying and not throwing a young person who was just starting out in the world under the bus,” Lewinsky said, offering a glimpse into the complicated power dynamics of their relationship.

While acknowledging her own mistakes, Lewinsky was adamant that Clinton’s actions, especially his initial denial of the affair, were far more damaging. Clinton’s refusal to come clean about the affair before admitting it, according to Lewinsky, felt like “gaslighting… on a grand scale,” and she pointed out the profound damage done to young women watching her being vilified on the global stage for her involvement in the affair. “I think there was so much collateral damage for women of my generation,” Lewinsky remarked, noting how the experience affected her long-term sense of self-worth and future prospects.

At the time, Clinton was 49, and Lewinsky, then a 22-year-old intern, had a consensual relationship with him that would become the subject of intense public scrutiny. Clinton’s eventual admission of the affair led to his impeachment by the House of Representatives, although he was acquitted in the Senate and remained in office.

Lewinsky, who has spent years grappling with the public humiliation and the consequences of the scandal, reflected on how she navigated through the fallout. “I was lucky enough to hold onto a strand of my true self, but I lost my future,” she shared. Yet, she expressed gratitude for how her life had transformed over the past decade, even as she acknowledged the challenges she faced in the aftermath.

Lewinsky’s reflections offer a powerful perspective on the long-lasting effects of public scandal, the abuse of power, and the unequal treatment faced by women in high-profile situations. Through her candid remarks, she calls for greater accountability and understanding of the broader impact such events can have on individuals, particularly young women caught in a storm of political and media frenzy.